The Strata Management Tribunal has declared the termination by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council’s Commissioner for Building (COB) of the entire Joint Management Committee (JMC) of Riviera III Apartment as invalid.
This comes as COB has no power to declare the office of the JMC vacant with the effect of terminating JMC members, reported The Star.
“I find it extremely disturbing that the respondent had decided to sack the entire JMC by vacating their office, and some two months after the managing agent had been appointed,” said Strata Management Tribunal president Datuk Roger Tan in his judgment.
Tan noted that the termination notice issued to JMC chairman Malcolm Anandraj Edward James, the claimant in the case, was invalid as it is ultra vires to Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757).
This means that the termination notices handed out to four other JMC members – namely, Lee Chee Keen, Ng Cheek What, Chew Hai Yin and Lee Am Ping – were also null and void. As such, the four should be reinstated to office.
“This Tribunal will not lend its jurisdiction to cure, legalise, legitimise or validate an ultra vires act,” said Tan.
On 21 May 2017, an additional payment for strata applications and an additional sum of RM500 for those who failed to pay the cost was imposed on the residents at the Joint Management Body (JMB) extraordinary general meeting.
The COB ordered the JMB, via a letter dated 14 September 2017, to stop the collection of payments.
However, Malcolm did not comply with the suspension and cessation notices issued by the respondent.
As such, the COB issued termination notices to Malcolm and the other JMC members.
Two claims were filed by Malcolm, while a third was filed by the JMB of Riviera III Apartment.
Muhammad Noor Isman Ismail, the Deputy Commissioner for Building II, was the respondent in all claims.
Image sourced from The Star Online
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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